


when the sun goes down

by stxrryrxin



Category: K-pop, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, Darkness, Family, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hope, Humor, Insomnia, Late at Night, Love, M/M, Nightmares, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-02-10 02:52:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18651421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stxrryrxin/pseuds/stxrryrxin
Summary: Fear. That is all that Minho knew, until someone came along and taught him how to live.





	1. Silence

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys :) This is my first SKZ story so I truly hope you enjoy my work. I'm working really hard on this lately. This story is special to me because the character Lee Know deals with a lot of the same emotions I have dealt with. He is a character I feel a deep connection with. I want this story to not only be a fun love story with a twist of comedy, but for it to have meaning, and maybe help some of you feel less alone in your struggles if that makes any sense at all. Please support this story and enjoy the ride!  
> P.S. This story is also posted on Wattpad. I DID NOT STEAL THIS STORY LMAO.

74°, sweat trickles down the top of Minho's forehead and he drags his sleeve across his damp skin in slight irritation.

The walk to his job isn't too far from home. Close enough for there not to be a bus stop nearby, far enough that he is a sweaty mess by the time he arrives.

"What's up." Felix, Minho's work friend for about a year now calls to him as he pushes through the convenience store doors.

He is refreshed by the cool air that flows throughout the building.

"I'm sweaty as fuck. Why is it so hot today?" Minho complains while pulling out a bottle of cold coffee from one of the coolers.

"Right? You're lucky you weren't here this morning when the air conditioning broke. Boss had to come fix it but it took him about an hour to get here. I got sick of explaining to each customer that came in that the stupid thing was broken." Felix huffs, typing swiftly at the touch screen register to clock out before picking up his navy blue backpack, to which in Minho's opinion is much too stuffed.

"What do you carry in there, a body?"

"You never know Lee Minho, I could be more dangerous than you think."

Minho cringes at the bland joke a shoos him away, "Get outta here."

Felix's lips pull into a cheeky smirk, eyes form into crescent moons before jabbing a figure into the older boy's stomach, earning a yelp.

"Later man."

As soon as his coworker is gone, nothing but the sound of background music and the soft buzz of the flickering 'OPEN' sign sounds throughout the small store.

Evening is now setting in, pink and orange colored clouds are painted softly across the sky outside of the wide window. It's soothing for Minho to watch.

He let's the quietness of the space calm him, but that sweet, yummy sound of absent people is interrupted only moments later by an unpleasant sound of the entrance door bell.

"Welcome- woah." Minho mumbles the last word as he stares in slight awe.

A boy about his age walks casually through the door, sending Minho a bright smile, "Good evening."

Dark strands of blue gently drape over the boy's forehead, he runs his fingers through the soft looking hair.

Minho mentally slaps himself for staring too long and clears his throat awkwardly.

"Can I help you find anything?"

Not that it would be difficult for the boy to find anything here, being as this store is tiny. Just common curiosity.

"I think I'm alright, thankyou." He sends Minho another soft smile and Minho almost struggles to keep his balance. He quickly sends a polite smile back and turns away.

Wow, okay. Minho wasn't expecting that. He slowly pears down at his shaky hands.

Minho needs distraction. 

He quietly takes a seat behind the register and pulls a gray notebook out of his small backpack, a backpack for sure much lighter than Felix's. Minho carries maybe about 4 things in there. Phone charger, notebook, wallet, and a few snacks to hold him over during his long shift.

He picks up a nearby pen off the counter carefully and thinks of something to write, or at least pretend to write through the duration of the pretty boy's presence. Minho wants to be as casual as possible.

When nothing comes to mind, he ends up doodling onto the smooth white paper, carefully sketching out the shape of an eye, something that Minho finds himself sketching a lot when he's bored. His friends find it very creepy. He can see why it would be creepy, but he doesn't really care much about it. It's just a drawing after all. Not like he's trying to summon the devil or anything. Or maybe he is.

"Um.. hello?"

Minho's head jolts up with wide eyes after realizing the poor boy had been ignored by him for God knows how long. Minho trails too deep into his thoughts sometimes.

"Oh my God hi I'm sorry, can I help you?" Cringe. Why'd he have to sound so panicked?

The blue haired boy laughs, he must be assuming that Minho was just dozing off.

Minho appreciates how chill he is about it as soon as he gets to the point straight after.

"Yeah, uh, do you guys have anymore Honey Butter chips in the back? There's none left on the shelf."

Minho nods and disappears for a moment, returning with a box.

"Sorry about that, how many do you need?"

"Two please. And no worries."

He pulls out two of the yellow bags and sets them on the counter.

"Cool eyes."

Minho sends him a confused look, tilting his head slightly to the side before earning a soft laugh from the boy. "In your notebook, do you sketch a lot?"

Minho brings his eyes from the boy down to his notebook and quickly shuts it in embarrassment.

"Oh, it's nothing, I just um, do it when I'm bored I guess." He lets out an awkward laugh that mentally grosses himself out.

"Looks good, I wish I could draw."

"This? Nah, it's really not that great."

They both share eye contact for a slight moment before the boy breaks the awkward silence. "This will be all, I think." He sets the chips and a few soda cans down onto the counter and Minho begins scanning away.

"I'm Jisung by the way, I just moved into this town a few days ago." He holds out a hand for Minho to shake.

Minho hates hand shakes. They're so awkward, and could easily leave a person in a pool of embarrassment and regret if it goes wrong.

He hesitantly takes Jisungs hand and shakes it. That wasn't too bad.

"I'm Minho, I've lived here basically all my life." He takes the card that is offered to him and swipes it, handing it back to Jisung before placing the items in a plastic bag.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Minho. Hope to see you around sometime." Jisung sends him the warmest of smiles before exiting the building, and Minho is left to drown in both silence and the sound of his violently thumping heart.


	2. Afraid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was very sleepy when I wrote this so please excuse me if some of the sentences don't make sense. Enjoy this chapter STAY💕

Yesterday was odd. Definitely not a normal day for Minho. The air conditioning broke again so he had to make the hard decision of leaving the store door open during his evening/night shift. Leaving the door open, especially at night brings Minho uncomfortable feelings. He would much rather be secluded in the small store with to door closed. It's just more comfortable and it makes him feel somewhat safer.

Now you may think, well that doesn't sound too odd of a day. But it was, and that isn't quite the reason. Just that the air conditioning never breaks so it was only the slightest bit of odd.

What's odd is, Minho can't stop thinking about that dark blue haired boy that came in and destroyed his blissful quiet time in the most pleasing way possible. Minho was not bothered at all, and that says a lot. Normally, when someone destroys his quiet time, you are immediately his enemy.

From what Minho can remember, Jisung said he is new to the neighborhood. Minho is confident he knows just about every person, or atleast family in this small neighborhood just outside of the big city of Seoul. So this means it won't be hard for him to see that gorgeous boy again. 

Minho isn't the greatest at getting to know people, but he would try for that boy. It's been a bit since Minho has liked... or atleast had somewhat of an interest in someone, so he feels excited about this. 

And there he goes, overthinking. Thinking much too far into the future. Imagining things that would probably never happen. What are the chances of finding another homosexual in this neighborhood, let alone one that Minho likes. 

In this tiny neighborhood that Minho has known all his life, he knows these people too well to know none of them are open to that idea. But who knows, people hide their feelings all the time in this society. People are too afraid to be who they are, afraid of judgment.

Minho has always been afraid of himself, and he can't help but drift into the painful memory. The time he had his first boy crush, the day he admitted it to someone he trusted his life with. A childhood friend who had promised to keep his secret safe, swore on her life she would never tell a soul. He can remember the day so clearly, the day that promise was broken. The time he had to face judgment, in front of all of his classmates, teacher, the boy. The disgusted eyes piercing into his own. The eyes he had fallen deeply for. The toxic words spat at him, words like 'disgusting', 'horny bitch', 'pathetic' echoed in his mind as he pounded his hands against the bathroom stall till they went numb, tears flooding down his cheeks. 

Ever since then, Minho has been nothing but afraid. Not wanting or knowing how to just accept that he was not like the people around him. 

He still can't believe his parents even accept him for that, which is sad. His parents have always tried their best to be different from other parents, be extra supportive. 

Even with their support though, it isn't enough. Minho is just a sad boy. He can't help that he is that way, and even when he tries to see the brighter side of things, darkness takes over. 

He just wants to try hard in life, try to be confident in his own skin, try to be brave for once, but the word 'try' only tires him.

"Well," Felix's deep voice fills the quiet room, pulling Minho out of his toxic thoughts, "I was gonna go home, but you look like you need company. Mind if I hangout for a bit?"

Having someone else here during his shift does sound nice to Minho right now. It would distract him from falling into his dark thoughts again.

"Sure."

-

"Yo, that ain't how it works. You gotta go like this-"

"For the love of God, I don't wanna learn your stupid Fortnite dance moves. Go home." Minho thought having Felix here would be entertaining, but this is an utter cringe fest and he is this close to smacking Felix upside the head. But despite his annoyance, these annoying things are keeping Minho distracted from trailing too deeply into his thoughts.

"Alright, have fun being alone." Felix let's out a huff of disappointment and grabs his bag, ready to leave before he is dragged back by the sleeve of his dark grey sweater. 

"No no don't leave, I was kidding, but can we please talk about something else?"

"Fine. You entertain me then." Felix tosses his bag back under the counter and folds his arms, waiting for a response.

"Uh..." The older struggles to think of an interesting topic.

Maybe he can tell him about Jisung? Alright, so there is one other person that supports Minho with his sexuality, and that's Felix. 

When Minho had confessed it to him, he didn't get much of a response back. Just a casual, "Good for you mate." and if he'll be honest, Minho really appreciated how calm his coworker was about the topic. 

Felix isn't from around here, he was born overseas, so maybe their culture is different when it comes to homosexuality. 

"Alright.. well. I guess I have something interesting to say. I met a boy yesterday. He's pretty new in town, and let me tell you, he left me some kind of feeling, but I'm not sure what it is."

"Oh shit, I wanna see him. So you think he's really good looking eh?" Felix's shoots the older a smirk and scoots almost too close to him for Minho's comfort zone, nudging him in the process.

"He's not too bad. He's really polite, and, I dunno, seemingly pure..?" 

"That's cute."

Minho looks back at him, knitting his brows together, "Are you being sarcastic?"

Felix snorts, "Just not the kind of boy I thought you'd be into. I thought you liked deep boys."

Minho wants to believe that Felix is only joking when he says that, but he can't be so sure. 

"I don't fucking know how deep he is, and I'm not head over heels for him or anything, it's just a little crush." Minho is more irritated than he needs to be. 

"Calm down, I'm just messing with you. Anyways, I hope you see this boy more often. Do you know his name?" Felix steals a cracker from the ziplock bag in Minho's open backpack and begins to munch.

He chews too loud. 

"Jisung. His name is Jisung." Minho can't help but wonder if Jisung can remember his name as well. He hopes so.


	3. Rainfall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi STAY 💖 I hope you all are doing well. It's been raining alot lately so that's kind of what inspired this chapter hehe, hope you enjoy it!

Minho almost broke down in tears of joy when he woke up to the sound of rain drops hitting his bedroom window, the perfect time to grab a quick coffee on the way to work. The streets are quiet in his neighborhood today. He finds it funny how, when the rain is pouring down, he seems to be the only one enjoying getting soaked while others are inside their homes, shielding themselves. 

Though Minho prefers warm rain, and today is chilly, he still appreciates the storm.

This kind of weather brings refreshment to his boring repetitive life. When dark clouds form in the sky, you'll find Minho bubbling with excitement. 

Playing in the rain alone, ear buds in, maybe take a walk to the park and sit on the swings, just think about life; things he likes to do everytime the weather is like this. Minho can't count how many times his father has scolded him about wearing his ear buds out in the rain, but he's always sure to wear at least a beanie or a hoodie to protect them from the damaging moisture. The boy can understand the frustration though, his parents did buy him very expensive bluetooth ones, but he is always making sure to give the tiny devices the best if care.

"Well you look nice." The deep, sarcastic voice of his co-worker sounds through both the silence of the store and the outside showers as Minho steps inside. 

"I know." The older pulls off his soaked black beanie and runs his fingers through his dark, soaked hair.

Felix takes a deep breath, a sentimental expression painted on his face as he gazes out the window. "Why does it have to be so gloomy today?"

"What are you talking about? It's beautiful today." The older's eyes light up as the words leave his mouth. He takes a sip of the warm coffee in his hands, eyes making their way over to the view that Felix seems to be so focused on.

"Maybe to you, but I'm not an emo kid like you. I like sunshine." 

Felix quickly backs away in laughter when Minho raises an arm to attack.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." The younger ruffles Minho's hair playfully, but this time Minho succeeds in swatting his arm. 

"Ouch."

"Asshole."

"Hey! Can't you take a j-" Felix is interrupted by the abrupt ring of the bell on the entrance door.

"Hey Minho." The sound of Jisung's voice throws Minho into panick mode.

Jisung look's cozy today. His outfit consisting of a simple thin white sweater, black sweat pants and white running shoes.

He can make even the simplest of outfits look like some high end brand. 

The boy disappears down one of the aisles and Minho mentally slaps himself for not giving him a response.

Felix's big eyes slowly shift over to Minho's, his lips pulling into a smirk. "Is that him?" He whispers almost too loud and Minho takes hold of his arm, eyes glued to Jisung casually browsing around the store.

"Ouch you're so abusive what the freak-"

"Well jesus, quit being so damn obvious. Yes that's him."

"You're being just as obvious as me, if not more. Why are we still talking about it? We could h- ouch!" The sound of Felix's yelp echoes off the walls of the building when the older tightens his grip. Jisung's head startlingly jolts up, confused eyes rest on the two causing all the ruckus. 

Minho quickly plasters a smile onto his own face, "Are you having trouble finding anything Jisung?" 

"I'm good... thanks." The boy's eyes leave the two soon after, returning to his shopping.

"Hey. Can you like, let go of my arm?" Felix spits in annoyance.

Minho releases his tight grip, not realizing how long he had been holding on for.

"You left a mark, meanie." The younger whines, examining the small red mark that his coworker's hand has created. 

"Don't be so loud next time." 

"Do you wanna fi-" The younger's voice halts. 

Jisung is now standing at the front of the counter, slowly setting down his items.

"I'm out, you'll pay for this Lee Minho." Felix shoots older a glare, sending a friendly smile over to Jisung right after, before making his way out the door.

"Have I interrupted something..?" Jisung let's out an uncertain chuckle, eyes lighting up when they meet Minho's.

His eyes are very pretty, and Minho immediately sees that as a problem, because he finds it hard to get words out of his mouth while staring into them.

"Nah, we were just messing around." Minho let's out some kind of sound that was meant to be a laugh, but sounds more like something he can't name. Definitely not a noise that would come out of a human. He can feel the heat of embarrassment creeping up to his cheeks.

Jisung's choices today are simple, a small role of kimbap and an energy drink.

The boy blows a strand of hair out of his face while digging through his wallet. 

How can his hair stay so nice and smooth looking, even after being soaked from the rain?

"Did you play out in the rain too?" Jisung speaks after setting bills onto the counter, eyes scanning Minho's rain drenched body.

"Oh," Minho let's out an actual laugh this time, a normal laugh, "Well, I actually live right down the street, so I walk to work everyday. Didn't realize how bad the rain would get." The last bit is a lie, Minho left the house knowing he would get soaked. 

The olders eyes flicker over the features of the boy infront of him. The light flush of pink that spreads across his cheeks and the tip of his nose, dark circles formed around his bright doe eyes, but only at the slightest. Jisung looks very cold, and maybe a little tired, yet still admiring.

Why the hell isn't he wearing a jacket? The realization strikes Minho.

"Kinda forgot to bring my jacket, didn't realize how cold it would be either." It's like he read Minho's thoughts, a warm, breathy laugh escaping the boy's slightly chapped lips.

"You should drink something warm- I mean-" Regret immediately hits the hopeless cashier behind the counter as he tries to think of ways to fix the sentence, "...ya know, put on a jacket." Minho's words drift off and Jisung literally gives him a '?' look. 

"Uhm..." the dark blue haired boy is speachless, and Minho is mentally slapping himself over and over again.

"Thanks..?" Jisung let's out a kind of laugh that Minho is sure, just a laugh to ease the awkwardness, but it's really not helping the situation. 

"Here's your change." Minho adds on his own laughter, much louder than he wanted and quickly shoves the money into the lost boy's hands, "have a nice day Jisung!"

"Aha... you too." Jisung's eyebrows furrow together as he tilts his head, probably in confusion, exiting the door right after.

The least Jisung could've done was not put Minho in an awkward place. Maybe brush off the odd interaction, make him feel less dumb about himself? Not be so rude? 

Okay, maybe Jisung wasn't trying to be rude. He just felt awkward. 

He still could've been nicer, and taken it as a nice gesture.

Stop overthinking it. 

"Oh my god." Minho, stressfully rubbing his temples, is just about to slap himself in the face physically until he realizes Jisung's items are still on the counter. "Jesus christ." Swiftly grabbing the bag he jogs out of the store, almost slipping on his way out. 

He shivers when the cold air hits his skin, creating goosebumps as his eyes scan the wet streets, eventually spotting his costumer about two stores down. 

"Excuse me! Uh, Jisung!" 

The boy turns around, looks down at his empty hands, and throws his head back in realization, an out of breath Minho catching up to him. 

"That's what it was! I knew I forgot something." 

The cashier's trembling cold hands give the boy his belongings.

"Thank you, Minho." His eyes light up again, the awkward tension between them just a few minutes ago now abcent. 

Minho finds himself smiling, just looking at Jisung. He isn't sure why, maybe how comforting his eyes are? Or the bright smile on his face, tired, but bright. Or maybe the fact that Jisung moved on from that awkward interaction in a matter of minutes, proving Minho's over thought thoughts wrong. He doesn't know. He just knows that nothing has been able to make him feel this warm inside in a long time. The boy's face is comforting to look at.

"Now, go drink something warm, where a jacket or something." Jisung speaks again, mocking him from earlier after a few moments go by, but Minho isn't even mad. 

Jisung sends one last warm smile before patting the other male's shoulder and walking away. Again, leaving Minho alone to listen to his own thoughts, and the sound of the died down rain hitting against the cold cement.

Minho's thoughts are awfully quiet though, he isn't sure what to think. His mind won't process things properly. He's just, shocked.

He clutches his stomach when the flutteriness forms, turning away at a slow pace. His eyes stare abcent mindedly ahead as he makes his way back to the store.


	4. Awkward Silence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter yeet.  
> Sorry guys, I've been on vacation so it was hard to post but ya girl's back now so look forward to more chapters coming sooooooon.💖

"You up for tacos?" Felix speaks while covering the phone with his palm. "Woojin's buying lunch."

"I'm up for whatever." Minho brings a hand to his rumbling stomach. He skipped breakfast this morning due to waking up late and not having enough time before heading to work. 

Sleeping has been a problem for him lately. Tossing and turning, stomach feeling a little unsettle by all of the overthinking he had done that passed day. Even watching the stars outside of his window while listening to soothing music didn't help him like it normally would. After trying almost everything under the sun to get a good night's rest, sleeping pills were his last option. 

At least he got some kind of sleep, a good three hours.

The end of Minho's shift is approaching, but he decides to stay for a little longer to eat with his friends. His crew, Chan likes to call it, but Minho cringes everytime he hears the word.

Not even ten minutes go by and their two friends walk through the door with bags of food. 

"We got your favorite. Spicy chicken, extra sauce, extra lettuce." Chan speaks while handing over a small paper bag to Minho. 

The delicious smell of the bag brings his mouth to a watering state.

-  
"So, any tea to spill? What's work been like lately since I quit?" Woojin speaks, mouth full of food to which Minho does not appreciate. 

"Slow. It's just been slow. No tea." Chan tosses a wrapper into the small trash bin before pulling out another taco.

"Damn you inhale your food don't you? I'm still on my first." Felix's wide eyes watch as Chan scarfs down his third taco, "Anyways, I have- no- Minho has tea to spill."

Minho freezes, all eyes on him. 

"What's your tea Minho?" Chan asks, Woojin stares with curious eyes at the boy who is now suffering in the awkward silence, slowly gulping down his food.

"What? Oh, not really anything.. Felix is talking bullshit."

"I call bullshit on your bullshit. You know what I'm talking about." 

Minho let's out a deep sigh when a few moments of silence go by. 

"Felix, I don't feel comf-" 

"So there's this person," the youngest takes a sip if his soda before continuing, "this somewhat attractive-ish person..."

Minho stressfully runs his figures through his hair. "Felix stop-"

Chan and Woojin have yet to know about Minho's sexuality. He is practically baffled that Felix would even bring it up, he thought he could trust his coworker.

"Continue." Chan gestures impatiently to go on with the topic.

What the hell? 

"Can you stop? You have the biggest mouth I swear to god-  I said I don't want to talk about it." Minho snaps, harsher than he meant to, but he doesn't take it back. He is annoyed and uncomfortable. 

Minho is not ready to tell them, and as much as he loves Felix and understands that he's not trying to expose Minho's sexuality, it's just weird to talk about. They will want to see this person, this Jisung. 

He can't help but feel very disappointed, annoyed with his friend.

Felix freezes along with the older two, almost a little frightened at Minho's dark voice.

The four stand quietly in the awkward tension, Woojin haults his chewing, probably not knowing what to do in this situation.

"Hey," Chan drapes an arm around both Felix and Minho's shoulders, "let's not get all intense now, Minho just doesn't want to talk about it." Chan smiles through worried eyes, in attempt to lighten to mood.

"Sorry Minho.." Felix looks away from the death glare his coworker is giving him.

Minho doesn't say anything back, just scoffs. The older is aware of how rude he is being, but he isn't sorry. Felix should know the boundaries. 

Okay, maybe Minho is getting a little more annoyed then he needs to be, but this topic comes very sensitive to him. He thought maybe he could trust Felix with this. He never told Felix not to tell everyone, but you'd think the kid would be smart enough as to not bring it up when their two other friends don't know that Minho likes boys. It's just about having respect for a friend's secrets.

"Minho, is it really that embarassing to talk about..?" Woojin speaks up, pushing the topic, "We're your friends. Don't you trust us?" A small frown forms on the oldest's face.

"Woojin, you have a good point, but let's not pressure him guys. Minho," Chan meets eyes with the quiet boy, "whenever you're ready, just know you can trust us with your secrets. Okay?" 

Minho doesn't say anything though, he just nods in response, and for some reason, feels a lump form in his throat. Maybe because of the comforting light in Chan's eyes. 

Minho has come to the realization that this older friend has possibly the friendliest eyes he has ever seen. 

Chan has always been open to Minho about his secrets. Though they've only been friends for about two years, he has always seemed like a trustworthy person. Minho wants to open up to him. He wants to spill his secrets, and he knows they're safe with Chan and Woojin, he doesn't know why he's so scared. 

But Minho doesn't want to force it out of himself either. The only reason he came out to Felix so fast was because they were on the topic of LGBTQ rights, and the younger friend mentioned he is friends with a few people like that. Felix seemed so easy to talk to about it, so easy that Minho during the time happened to have enough confidence to just spit it out. 

"Alright.. well, I better get going. I promised my dad I'd help him with yard work. Felix, good luck with your shift today, I'll probably stop by sometime later because I'll have nothing to do." Chan collects all of the groups garbage and tosses it in the trash bin.

"Sounds good." Felix's speaks in a flat tone, arms folded, eyes glued to the floor.

Chan gives Minho and Felix an unsure look, almost as if he's afraid of what will happen if he leaves the two boys alone in the room full of tension.

"I'll give you a ride, Chan." Woojin offers, letting out a sigh before patting the two youngest friends on the shoulders, "Please don't kill each other." 

"Alright, we'll see you guys later. I'm still covering your shift Friday, right?" Chan calls over to the youngest, Woojin opening the door for him.

"Yep. See ya guys, thanks for lunch." 

The two youngest wave them off, watching as they slowly disappear off into the distance outside the window.

The tension that the two youngest are left in is almost too difficult to breathe in.

Minho picks up his backpack, throwing it onto his shoulder before eventually breaking the quietness of the room, "I should get going too."

The older is just about to exit the small store without saying goodbye, but is stopped by the grip of Felix's hand on his shoulder, "Minho."

"What." Minho doesn't want to talk, but the guilt of being so cold to Felix over such a small thing is eating him alive.

"I'm really sorry. Seriously. I wasn't thinking through my words, I'm stupid." The desperate tone in the youngest's voice almost breaks Minho's heart. He can hear the guilt so clearly.

"You're not stupid, Felix." Minho let's out a deep breath, "Just please ask me before spilling secrets like that. I may have overreacted a bit, I'm sorry too." He turns around to face Felix, eyes going wide in shock when he realizes the small boy has tears in his eyes.

"Dude, why are you crying?" He can't help but let out a gentle laugh at the innocence in his friend's eyes.

Felix is so fragile, sensitive. 

Minho is too, he just doesn't show it as much as his younger friend does.

Felix is truly a delicate person, one you need to be gentle with and protect.

"I'm a really bad friend." Felix sniffels as the oldest pulls him into a hug, Minho just can't ignore the child in his friend.

"No you're not, I make silly mistakes too. I forgive you, okay?" Minho strokes Felix's back comfortingly and the boy silently sobs into his shoulder.  "Ah, why are you crying so much?" The dark haired boy pulls away from the hug and looks into his coworkers damp eyes, "Are things okay at home..?"

Felix doesn't respond for a moment, either to collect his thoughts, or to get himself together before speaking again. "Yeah. Why wouldn't they be?" The boy wipes his own sleeve across his nose.

"I don't know.. but let's talk about this later, okay? We have a costumer coming in."

Felix gazes out the window for a moment to the shadow of someone just approaching the door. "Okay.."

"Alright," Minho pats his crying coworker on the back gently, "get yourself together. Call me later okay? As soon as your shift ends. Promise?" 

The younger nods, smiling with slight puffy eyes before waving his friend off.

Minho brings a hand up to the door, but it is swung open by someone else, causing him to stumble a bit.

He didn't realize his whole body would freeze in his tracks, wide eyes staring straight at the figure who is now standing directly in front of him.

"Oh, hey Minho!" Jisung smiles oh so brightly, moving casually past the frozen boy, "Hey Minho's friend."

Minho's head jolts over to Felix with panicked eyes. "Okay, I'm really going now." The quiet sentence escapes his lips as he attempts to escape, but Felix is too quick to reach over the counter and grab on to the olders backpack, pulling him right back to the counter.

"Hey not so fast, you don't want to stay and talk to him?"

Minho's dark eyes grow wide in disbelief at his mindless friend.

"Felix, no. Let go."

"No."

"Felix!" Minho pleads as quiet as he possibly can.

The younger is quick to give up the fight, letting out a huff before releasing his right grip, "Whimp."

Minho doesn't react to the rude comment, walking at a quick, but not too obvious pace out the door. 

Minho's heart is pounding, probably looking like an idiot rushing out of the store so fast like that. He can't have another awkward interaction with Jisung again, he can't talk to him right now, not in this state.

If it were up to Minho, he would be having a nice chat with the pretty boy right this moment.

But this little friend who has been following him around since day one, one that goes by the name of Social Anxiety, is telling him to do otherwise. Forcing him.

Flashbacks of the awkward interaction he had with the blue haired boy the day before flow uncomfortably through his mind.

Jisung had repeated the words that unintentionally spilled out of Minho's stupid mouth. 

Was Jisung mocking him in a playful manner? Or was he being serious? 

"Go drink something warm, wear a jacket or something."

Minho obviously hopes it's the second one.

He's just about three or four buildings away from the store, passing one coffee shop, one clothing store, one karaoke, and one other clothing shop until he hears a voice he wasn't exactly expecting to hear.

"Minho, wait up!" The sound of swift foot steps grow closer to him, until the startled boy turns around to see Jisung almost one building away. 

With each foot step, Minho's heart rate picks up speed.

"Jisung? Hey what's up?" He tries to play it cool, really really tries, but he's afraid his hands are shaking so much it might be noticeable just how weak Jisung makes him. 

This strange kid that just showed up out of nowhere and started becoming a regular at the store. This frustratingly beautiful boy. 

"What's the rush? Damn you walk fast." The boys midnight blue hair is brush away from his face by the light breeze, exposing his full forehead, the shape of his eyebrows that perfectly line his big doe eyes. 

Minho let's out a partial breath in awe, and a soft laugh, not really knowing what excuse to make. 

It's not that he wants Jisung to leave, it's that he literally cannot talk to him. He doesn't know how to act around him. 

Social anxiety at it's finest, Minho thinks.

"Uhm, I'm late for something." Minho did not mean to make his words come out so short. He really didn't and he regrets those damn words the second they leave his mouth.

A disappointed expression paints across the once brightened boy, "Ah... sorry, I won't keep you then."

Minho's heart both breaks and flutters all at once.

Should he just say it got canceled? No that would be stupidly obvious. 

Minho is panicking on the inside. How can he fix this?

Jisung is about to turn back to the way he came from, until Minho speaks up.

"Uhm, actually-" Actually.. actually what?

"Actually..?" Jisung tilts his head in confusion. "You good? Minho?"

Did Minho really blank out for that long trying the come up with something to say? 

Goddamnit.

"Actually, aha, sorry. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I was gonna ask, when you're free? You know, like, this is my hometown, I know the ins and outs... maybe I could show you around?" 

The shocked expression on Jisung's face brings worry to Minho's stomach. 

Is this a good reaction or a bad reaction? Did Minho ask the question to fast? Is it not time yet? How the fuck does making friends even work? 

"Was that... weird to ask? Aha.. That was too weird." The brown haired boy mumbles the last words to himself. "Sorry, I better get going, I have alot to do and-" the embarrassment is killing him. He can feel the heat burning at his cheeks.

Jisung's expression goes immediately from confused to the brightest smile as he watches Minho ramble.

"-Uh, why am I still talking, yeah um, I'm gonna leave n-" 

"I would love that." 

Oh.

"You- would love me leaving or-"

"No, silly. I would love for you to show me around. I don't know shit about this area." The boy let's out a loud chuckle and Minho has to stop himself from smiling like an idiot.

"Oh, alright, sounds like a plan then. I'll figure out a time." He doesn't want to make Jisung uncomfortable by dragging out the conversation, and he's also supposedly late for something, so he ends it there. "I'll see you around Jisung." He sends him one last warm smile before turning around, until he's stopped once again.

"Minho." Jisung chuckles, "You might need my number to do that, or something."

Ah, of course, Minho didn't think that quite through. But couldn't he have told him the next time he comes in? 

No, Jisung wants his number, but only for the purpose of making plans. Nothing more, right? Not that he's interested in Minho... right?

He probably likes girls. Minho's assumptions are most likely certain, and he is just going to have to face reality.

Jisung just wants to be his friend. That's why he followed Minho out side. 

'It's never gonna happen, don't overthink it.' His mind tells him, and it's not difficult for him to believe it.

The brown haired boy takes a few steps toward Jisung and hands him his cell phone. "You're right." He let's out a chuckle before swallowing the lump in his throat. 

_  
The rest of Minho's day consisted of shopping for groceries with his mother, and helping with household chores.

"Why are you so quiet today? Did something happen at work?" His mother had asked earlier, he hadn't realized how much he kept drifting off into his own thoughts. Normally he'd talk his mother's ear off about odd costumer interactions, but today, he was just quiet. 

Though, his thoughts were too loud. 

He was never able to answer her question, she became to distracted with her shopping, and eventually received a phone call. 

"Honey?" 

His mother's voice snaps him out of his thoughts, chopping up the last green onion before tossing the small pieces in a bowl. "Yeah?"

"You never told me why you're being so quiet today. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing specific." Minho sighs. He focuses his eyes on the next vegetable and begins to chop, but he can feel his mother's eyes on him.

"It's just the norm sweety, let's not pressure him." The words of his father sharply hit something inside of Minho. 

Something about those words cause Minho to drop the vegetable and knife onto the counter, not realizing how startled his parents become at the loud noise. 

Just the norm? Minho knows his parents are well aware of his depression, and that they are very use to it.

But it's the way his father said it that makes him feel like sinking into the kitchen chair. Almost like he's tired if hearing the same complaints.

"Minho honey, I need to have a little talk with your father. Will you finish up these veggies for me?" His mother shoots his father the dirtiest glare before sending Minho a gentle, sympathetic smile and pulling her husband out of the room.

"How could you say that? You know how he feels about that." 

Minho can hear every bit of the conversation, them not knowing how loud they're being.

Minho sighs, roughly throwing down a veggie into the bowl. 

He's always felt like a burden to his parents, and that is honestly the last thing he wants to do. They are stressed enough about paying bills, making a living, they don't need this kind of negativity in their lives. 

Minho can't help it, and he hates that. Not only is he burdening himself, but his parents as well. 

He doesn't even want to eat dinner anymore. Appetite gone. He just wants to sleep, sleep through all his problems. Sleep away his sadness. Forget that he's broken, for just a little while. Forget about everything.


	5. What Real Friends Are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm backkk how y'all been doing?🌙

Holy shit, you made a move?” Felix proclaims over-enthusiastically. 

“Well, kind of?” Minho isn’t even sure himself, if that would count as a move. He feels almost too confident thinking back at his bold move of offering Jisung a tour around town. His conscience is quick to remind him to stop thinking so stupidly, and start thinking realistically. The bubble of confidence soon deflates, and Minho is back to his negative thoughts yet again. “I wouldn’t really consider it a move. It was just a friendly gesture.”

Felix’s lips pull into a thin line of disappointment. “You can still at least try, like, try to see if he’s interested in that way. And if he isn’t, and you just remain friends, then that’s okay too. But a little bit of trying never hurt anybody, eh?”

His friend is right. Trying could go either way. But what truly counts is that Minho tried. 

“Anyways, it's whatever. Yeah, being friends is enough." The older runs his fingers through his hair, feeling an uncomfortable pounding in his head. 

Caffeine is needed. He only had half a cup of coffee this morning because his dad decided to be that bitch and take the majority of the pot that Minho brewed himself. The kid was too lazy to make anymore, so you could say it's his problem and he shouldn't be complaining in his head right now.

"I wonder if Chan will come work the rest of my shift, I’m sick of this tiny shithole." Minho glances down at his phone to check the time.

8:03 pm. He still has a good four hours left, and the thought of staying here for that long is almost suffocating. 

"I doubt he’ll take it." 

“Oh trust me, he will.” 

_  
"I can't believe you made me cover your shift just because you don't feel like working." Chan attempts to look disappointed, but humor is clear in his eyes.

"If you don’t wanna take it then why’d you come?" Minho smirks.

"You have a good point Mr. Lee. Why did I come? Why am I always so nice to you?”

Minho pokes out his bottom lip in a pouty face at the oldest.

“Ah whatever, I'll just be getting a chunk of your paycheck." Chan shoots a wink and earns a scoff from Minho quickly after.

"Felix, feel like going out for a bit?" Minho says to the youngest while collecting his belongings.

“Rude.” Chan gasps.

“As long as long you don’t make me pay for karaoke again. My damn change stash is half empty because of you.” The youngest rolls his eyes before pulling out a water bottle from one of the refrigerators. 

“Yeah, you kids go party it up, meanwhile I’ll be makin’ all the bucks.” The oldest calls over from behind the front desk, trying much too hard to hide the slight regret of taking Minho’s shift.

“Yeah yeah. Good luck, thanks for coming in for me. Sorry to ditch ya.” Minho calls back, letting the cool night’s air rush through the entrance doors. He does feel a bit bad for making Chan take his shift, but the older insisted and is always wanting more hours anyways. 

_

“Dude, that was the best chicken I’ve ever had.” Felix beams in amazement.

“You’re telling me, you’ve been in Korea for three-ish years now and that was your first time trying Korean fried chicken?” 

“Correct.”

“Amazing.” Minho really can’t get over the ridiculous fact, but brushes it off and lets out an amused chuckle.

After eating and window shopping for a bit, the two friends mutually decide on the thing they always end up doing when hanging out together, which is karaoke. Minho doesn’t feel too confident in his singing voice and for that, his friends think he’s silly. They insist that he has a great voice, but Minho only sings for the fun and laughs.

A nice cool breeze from the air conditioning of the karaoke lobby refreshes Minho and he lets out a sigh of satisfaction. 

“Looks like there are a lot of rooms open, Felix which one-”

“Oh my god.” 

The older is a bit taken aback when Felix abruptly freezes in his tracks.

“What’s wrong?” Minho furrows his brows in confusion as he follows Felix’s gaze over to a group of kids that look young enough to be in highschool, around five or six people to be exact, “You know them?”

Felix looks terrified and it gives Minho an unsure feeling inside.

“We should leave.”

“What? Why? Dude talk to me what’s going on?” Minho is almost too confused at the point, and the fact that his younger friend won’t explain things is really starting to drive him crazy.

“No time to talk, I’ll tell you later.” Felix grabs hold of Minho’s arm and attempts to escape the room, but unfortunately, it’s too late.

“Hey Felix!” An unfamiliar voice to Minho sounds behind them.

Felix sighs and squeezes his eyes shut, almost like he’s mentally preparing himself for death. 

The younger boy slowly turns to the group and fakes the biggest smile in the world. “Aha, hey guys…”

“You tried to avoid us, didn’t you?” A tall male snickers as he takes takes a step towards the two boys.

“I-I didn’t see you..” Felix’s voice comes out very shaky.

“Bullshit.” 

“C’mon Minjun, leave the kid alone.”

“Hyunjin shut your big mouth. It ain’t your business.” 

“Hey you dumb fuck, you thought you could get away with cheating on the quiz by looking at my paper?” A female voice chimes in.

“G-guys, I’m sorry I-”

“Hey,” Minho hesitates before speaking, taking a protective step in front of Felix. The tension is so bad, he feels sick to his stomach, “What’s your problem?” 

“Oh, here comes mama bear.” The male in front of them speaks with sarcasm as he defensively raises both his hands.

“Nerd number two chiming in, let’s see what you got.” The female stands up from where she’s sitting and joins the black haired boy, to which Minho assumes is Minjun.

“Chaeyoung, this is my fight, go away.”

“Bitch he copied my answers! If this is anyone’s fight, it’s mine. I stayed up all damn night studying for that shit.” This Chaeyoung girl flicks a bleached blonde strand of hair out of her face.

“Whatever, I don’t have time to play with little highschoolers. Felix, let’s go.” Minho demands the younger and begins making his way out the door, but of course, is stopped by a strong hand taking hold of his shoulder and yanking him back.

“Hey, get your filthy hands off me.” Minho surprises himself when his voice raises at the Minjun.

“Oh you wanna go?” The taller boy charges at Minho, but two more of the boy’s friends hold him back.

“Just leave it be Minjun! You’re gonna make a scene.” A shorter kid panics.

“Let the fuck go shorty.” 

"Dude!" One of the highschool boys they call Hyunjin apparently, shrieks in disbelief.

Minjun shoves the short one over, and Hyunjin let's go, catching the kid before he can hit the ground.

"You don't know who you're messing with." Minjun's eyes pierce into Minho's.

"This is ridiculous, just fuck off already. I don't have time for this." Minho doesn't realize what is happening until he feels a knee jab forcefully into his stomach.

"Jesus Christ!" Minho coughs. 

"That's it." Felix is red with anger now, as his breathing increases two times over. The blonde boy throws a punch directly at Minjun’s shoulder. "Don't ever-" another punch, this time to the stomach, "-hurt my friend-" punch to the other shoulder, "ever again!" the younger shrieks the last two words and shoves the towering male to the ground.

Minho holds his stomach in pain, as does his opponent, the rest of the group staring in awe.

"Guys there’s a room for us back h- what the hell is going on?" a familiar voice appears. 

Woah.

"Minho?!" The blue haired boy freezes and almost drops the cup holder full of drinks to the ground.

"Jisung..?" Minho coughs as soon as the words leave his mouth. 

This country is too small.

"Dude, what did you do?" Jisung looks over at Minjun, "what's going on?" The sight seems to stir up panic in Jisung.

"L-little Felix stood up for himself." Hyunjin says with wide eyes still staring at the two injured young men. 

“Does no one see this right now? Where are the employees? Why is no one doing anything? Are there no fucking cameras in this building?” Chaeyoung shrieks, picking up her injured friend, and then glancing over at her crew, “Guys, let’s get the hell out of here.” 

But the young boys only stand and stare. 

"What are you pathetic people doing just standing there? Cmon!"

One of the boys who hasn't yet spoken a word, finally breaks his silence, "I don't want to." 

Chaeyoung almost drops Minjun in disbelief,  "Jeongin! I am older than you, you better do as I say. Come help me get Minjun home." She growls through gritted teeth.

"He said he doesn't want to, you aren't his mother." Another silent kid speaks up.

"Seungmin, what the fuck? I thought you were my friend. What the hell is wrong with you all?" 

"Are we your friends though? Are we really, Chaeyoung?" Hyunjin steps almost too close to the young girl. "When have you ever been there for us? All you do is order us around. Just because your older doesn't mean you can treat us that way." 

"I'm tired of your toxic comments. I'm tired of you calling me short!" The short one raises his voice.

Minho, despite the pain he's in, has to stifle his giggle at the comment.

"Our friend group was fine until you and Minjun came along and started to take lead. You know, I started this whole thing. What happened to us being good math buddies? You were always so nice to me, that is until I made the stupid decision of introducing you to my friends. You both ruin everything." Hyunjin sighs.

"It's like walking on eggshells with you guys. I can't say one thing without being picked on. I'm not that young you know!" Jeongin raises his small voice.

"I'm sorry guys, but you gotta go." Seungmin adds.

"We're done with your bullshit. You guys can be toxic elsewhere, but not in this group." Hyunjin points his finger to the exit, "Go."

"Wha- I can't even- what?!" The blonde girl shrieks, "Minjun, do something!" 

"What am I supposed to do? They're a bunch of losers anyways." Minjun grips his stomach, wincing at the pain. 

"Ugh. You're right. We don't need them." 

"We? No," Minjun shrugs his way out of her grip, "I, don't need losers like you all. Especially you, Chaeyoung." 

Minho is lost, Felix is speechless. They came here to have a good time, and end up in a situation like this. Minho senses a talk with his younger friend is imminent. 

Minjun collects himself and turns back once more towards the group, "Screw you guys." And with that, the defeated highschool boy makes his way out the door.

"Minjun wait!" Chaeyoung disappears after him.

The only people remaining in the karaoke lobby are a confused Jisung and Felix helping up a confused Minho, as the other boys sit in silence.

Faint sounds of music play and each person shares awkward glaces with one another.

Everyone is speechless. 

"Okay. That just happened." Seungmin breaks the silence, and another voice follows with "Whatever, I'm glad they're gone." 

"It's not like that took forever or anything to get rid of those idiots." Hyunjin let's out a sigh of relief and puts an arm around his shorter friend whom Minho recalls them calling Changbin.

"Are- are we free?" Jeongin gasps in disbelief, "do we actually have freedom now? Can I actually be myself now? Holy shit." He puts a palm over his mouth, hiding his smile.

"Okay, hold up. I am the most confused person right now." Hyunjin speaks as soon as he appears to notice how familiar Jisung and Minho seem to be with each other. "You two know each other?" 

"Ah, this is Minho, he works at a convenience store I always go to. We're friends." Jisung beams.

"Wait- we are?" 

There are too many things happening all at once, and not only does Minho’s head hurt, his stomach is throbbing. 

Maybe he should’ve stayed at work. Getting kicked in the abdomen by a highschooler was not one of Minho’s plans. 

“Are you gonna be okay?” Jisung looks into Minho’s eyes worriedly, and for a second, Minho forgets all about the pain he’s in, because the pain is replaced with butterflies. 

“Dude, I’m so sorry, I did not expect this to happen, I’m so sorry I-” 

“Felix, it’s not your fault.” Minho meets his eyes with the staring students. “I don’t know what the hell just happened, but if you let that asshole come near my friend again, I swear to god I will not hesitate to kill you all.” Minho is on a role tonight, he really never thought he would ever have the confidence to say things like this to someone. But right now, with all the anger boiling inside of him, he doesn’t care. He crushes that little self conscious side of himself.

“Minho, I’m really sorry on behalf of him. Really we’d never hurt Felix or anyone like that. He has anger issues, please understand.” Jisung speaks as he casts a look between the group, Felix, and Minho. 

“Felix, you’re like… my hero.” Seungmin blurts. Felix sends a look of confusion, “Like, I never thought you’d stand up to Minjun like that. No offense but you’re kind of small, and seemingly innocent.”

“Seungmin.” Hyunjin sends him a ‘Dude why’d you say that’ look.

Seungmin shrugs in response.

“Uh.. thanks..?” Felix seems speechless, the room grows quiet again. 

“Hey,” Jisung speaks up, “We were planning on getting ice cream earlier, please let us redeem the night buying you some. "

“Yeah, it’s the least we can do.” Hyunjin adds.

“That’s nice of you, but we’re gonna have to decline.” Minho throws Felix a look. 

"Oh cmon, we insist." Jeongin chimes in, making a puppy face.

After a few seconds of contemplating, the two finally give in.

_  
"So Felix, you never thought of us as bullies right? Just Minjun and Chaeyoung? I swear they were so controlling. The rest of us have never had a problem with you." Changbin speaks with a mouth full of Ice cream, earning a quite disgusted look from -who Minho thinks- is Seungmin.

Minho has to hold back a scoff. There's still not enough proof that these kids didn't bully Felix as well. He can't trust them just yet, not until he can get enough information out of his younger friend about all this. 

He hates the thought of Jisung being a bully. Damn, would that be shitty. He would have to give up the first little crush he's had in a long time. Bummer.

Wait. Something clicks. Is Jisung in… highschool? It's not really hard for him to believe, but at the same time, it makes him worry a little. Depending on how many years older Minho is will depend on how weird he feels about crushing on this boy. Guess he'll have to find out sometime. There are too many things running through Minho's mind right now, causing the pounding in his head to increase.  

"I- uhm.." Felix stutters, likely in shock.

This whole night has been exhausting, and if Minho were to be honest, he’d rather be home not dealing with everyone’s bullshit. Because of the pushover that he is, here he sits in an ice cream polar with a bunch of highschoolers. 

What a waste of time. 

He just wanted to go to Karaoke with his friend tonight, but it looks like that won't be happening anymore.

"We are really nice people I promise. I swear it was all Minjun and Chaeyoung. Swear on my life." Hyunjin speaks with a look of concern.

"Also," Seungmin swallows a scoop of his bubble gum ice cream before continuing, turning to Minho, "About what you said earlier, we aren't little highschoolers anymore. Excepted for Jeongin, we're all graduated." The boy makes air quotes as the word 'highschoolers' leaves his mouth. Relief immediately washes through Minho. Jisung is graduated. 

"Ah, my bad." Minho says half sarcastically, earning an annoying nudge from Felix. The older soon switches the topic, "Felix, we should get going soon." Jisung frowns in return. Oh.

"Wait, what's your name again?"

"Minho." The blue haired boy answers for him, and quickly looks away in embarrassment when everyone sends him weird looks. 

"Ah, Minho. You seem pretty close with little Felix here." Chang- Changhyun? Changmin? -Minho can't remember- sends him a curious look.

"He's not little first of all, and yes. I'm his best friend." Fhe rest of the groups eyes go a little wide at Minho's temper. They shouldn't be shocked right now. 

"Yeah, we've been close for a bit." Felix finally speaks up, sending them a gentle smile. He's too forgiving sometimes.

"Hey, Minho, how long have you been working at that store?" Jisung's dark eyes meet with Minho's, and the older almost has to mentally slap himself for feeling this fluttery in his stomach at the sight.

"A couple years now." 

He catches himself staring at Jisung for a little longer than he had intended. He just can't help but notice the way the boy nervously fiddles around with one of his sleeves that are much too long for the length of his arms. Cute. Not to mention the way his brows furrow as he blows a small strand of blue hair out of his face. Too cute.

"Oh shit, we never introduced ourselves." One of the boy's reaches out a hand across the table to Minho, "I'm Seungmin." Minho takes his hand while feeling Jisung's eyes on him. 

"I'm Jeongin." Minho takes the next boy's hand and shakes it. This kid can't be a bully. He comes off too innocent. 

"Hyunjin."

"Changbin." Ah, Changbin. Minho kind of remembers now.

"And apparently you know Jisung." Hyunjin let's out a chuckle. "Is your stomach feeling okay by the way?" The tall boy sends Minho a worried look.

"Not really." He let's the most honest words slip his mouth. 

Maybe there's a small chance these kids aren't really bullies. Maybe Minho's being too quick to judge.

"Minho, I'm so sorry." The blue haired boy again, attacks Minho's heart by sending him another worried look, placing a hand on his shoulder gently.

"I'll be fine." Minho glances over at his best friend. He looks very uncomfortable. "Lix, we better get going now. Remember the thing?" The older sends him a look hoping he'll go along with his plan.

"What thing?" Stupid. 

Minho let's out a nervous laugh, the rest of the group sending puzzled looks over at him.

"The thing, did you forget?"

It takes Felix a moment but he finally processes it, "Ah! Yes! Shit, we can't be late for that."

"Look if you really don't want to hangout with us just say so. We won't be offended." Hyunjin speaks with knowing eyes, along with a slight scowl. 

Oh.

"No, we really have somewhere to be. You guys are great-"

"Yeah yeah, get outta here."  
Seungmin scowls as well. 

"We get it. I wouldn't really forgive us either if I were if your shoes." Changbin sighs.

"They hate us huh?" Jeongin sends Seungmin a pouty expression. 

"Nah, they just gotta go. It was nice seeing you guys, sorry it had to be like this." Minho almost thanks the gods or whatever's up there, for Jisungs understanding words. 

"No worries, see you guys."

"Yeah, thanks for the ice cream guys!" Minho almost rolls his eyes when he hears Felix's friendly tone and how obviously fake it sounds.

They are just about to walk outside, but Minho is stopped by a doe eyed boy. 

Jisung's really gotta stop making him feel so weak in the knees. He barely knows the kid.

"Look, I hope this doesn't ruin things between us. You're still gonna show me around town, right?" Their eyes meet, Minho's dark ones flutter at the sight.

"Uh," He isn't sure what to say in this situation. He already has mixed feelings about that group, but there is also no proof that Jisung really is a bully to his best friend. 

The decision is made as soon as Felix sends him an 'it's okay' look.

"Of course. " The brown haired boy sends Jisung a warm smile. 

"I'll text you."  
_  
"Felix. You idiot," Minho speaks up once the two are at a good enough distance from the ice cream parlor, pulling him into a dark alley between two brick buildings, "why the fuck didn't you tell me you were getting bullied?" Minho didn't mean to raise his voice, but his blood is boiling. Not because he's mad at Felix, but because of the fact that his friend was being hurt all this time and felt the need to be so secretive about it. He feels guilty, heavy inside for Felix. He wants to punch a wall, nobody hurts his friends like that. Over his dead body.

"Minho it's not a big deal, they're just a bunch of stupid kids from my school. Oh and Jisung? How the fuck do they know him? I'm-"

"Don't change the topic." Though Minho is confused about the Jisung thing, there's more  anger in him than curiosity. They'll talk about Jisung later. "I saw how rough they are, the stupid idiot kicked me in the abdomen. Do the others pick on you too? Are they involved too, or are they really what they say they are?" The older rubs his stomach where the injury takes place. "Have they ever done this to you? Is it physical or mental bullying? Or both? Felix talk to me."

"Just forget about it okay?" The blonde boy raises his voice, "I don't want to talk about it. I get by just fine on my own, alright?" His coworker's voice cracks.

"Felix if you don't tell me I will-"

"Both. Minjun would only get that aggressive if I really pissed him off, which I never dared to do after the first time. Him and that chic would mainly just pick on me and spit stupid toxic comments at me here and there. The rest of them have nothing to do with it, they're just his friends. There. I don't wanna talk about it anymore." He chokes on his words. 

The two stand in silence for a moment, a light breeze blowing, rustling the leaves of the tree hanging just above them. Strangers and cars pass by every now and then. Felix gazes out at the chaos of the city they stand in. Lights reflect off his glistening eyes, and once the first tear breaks free, the rest heavily follow down his cheeks. The blonde boy blinks rapidly, shaking his head as if to try and fight them back. "I cry in front of you too much."

Minho let's out a sympathetic sigh, "I don't have a problem with it." 

"It's stupid, you never cry. How do you do it?"

Minho gulps. Felix's words hit him somewhere deep inside. Somewhere sensitive. The kid is right, Minho never cries, at least in front of people. But even then, he doesn't cry much. He's always wondered if something was wrong with him. People call him cold for it, or just dead inside. He doesn't know really, is he cold? Is this even normal? It's just difficult at times to feel enough emotion to get tears to form. He wants to be an emotional person like his friends. He wants to show people he cares, he just has a hard time doing so.

"I don't know Lix." Minho's voice comes out a little shaky. 

"Well, I'm jealous."

"Don't be." Minho wouldn't wish this on anyone. 

They both take in deep, unsteady breaths at once.

"I'm so happy I'm graduated this year." Felix sniffles "It sucks being afraid to go to school you know?" 

Minho knows. If anyone knows that feeling, it's him. The highschool life he lived is not one he'd like to go back to. He refused to attend his own graduation, that's how badly he wanted out of there. Instead of going, his parents, including Chan and Woojin, all went out to eat as a celebration for him finally finishing highschool. Minho smiles mentally at the warm memories. A few of his school friends gave him shit for not going, but he didn't care. They weren't real friends to begin with. The last time he spoke to them was the week after graduation, soon after, everyone became busy with their lives. Minho didn't feel the need to keep in touch, a few good highschool memories with them were enough. He knows who is real friends are now. And those people are Chan, Woojin, and the newest addition to their little group, Felix. The only friends he feels he needs the most. The kind of friendship he has with them is something very special, secure, safe. And that is all he could ask for. 

"You don't have to worry about that anymore. How about we go get our minds off of this, hm?" Minho gently takes hold of Felix's hand and meets eyes with him. 

"What are we gonna do? Doesn't your stomach hurt?" 

"I'll be fine. Let's go see Woojin, he should be working still."

The youngest nods in agreement, following his best friend into the busy streets.


	6. Connecting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow updating :/ I'm really trying to write better chapters, it just takes time ya know? Hope you enjoy this chapter kidsss

5:30 am

Minho smacks his phone in attempts to turn off the alarm, but of course that did nothing. 

His head is throbbing. Him and Felix ended up staying at the cafe Woojin works at until 2:30am. Minho struggled to keep his eyes open all that night, but anything was worth making Felix feel better and forget about everything. The three stayed up that night talking about all sorts of things, Felix and Minho decided against bringing up what had happened at karaoke to Woojin. He worries too much, so telling him all that would've caused a mess. Since there weren't very many customers that late at night, they had enough time to catch up, ending up in fits of laughter by the end of Woojin's shift. The oldest drove Minho and Felix both home, and as soon as Minho got to his room he passed out as fast as a lighting bolt.

He pushes himself up and lazily walks over to the bathroom, only to meet eyes with his own horrendous reflection. The sight startles him awake, his hair in nasty ratted bunches.

After washing up and getting changed, he looks back into the mirror again. Dark circles deeply form beneath his eyes, he lets out a deep sigh. 

Let's just hope Jisung doesn't show up today to see this mess of a person.

_

 

"Morning Minho." 

Minho politely bows to the older cashier, Jamie. 

She flashes a smile back to him and clocks herself out. "You better not fall asleep again during your shift." 

"Ah, that won't happen." He partially lies, setting his coffee cup down on the counter and tossing his bag in a cabinet. 

The girl shoots him a knowing glare, lips pulling into a smile soon after. 

"I'm so ready to sleep. See you later, don't die." She calls back while exiting the building.

"Later Jamie."

And with that, Minho is left alone in the small store. The tired boy takes a seat at one of the stools behind the counter and gazes out of the big window of the building. 

The sun is just peeking at the tip of the green covered mountain, the bright blue and light pastel yellow colors of the morning sunrise leave him in awe. Sipping his coffee, Minho feels calm. Almost too calm, because before he knows it, once he sets his cup down, he drifts into a dreamless sleep.

_

 

"Psst." 

Who's bugging him now? Can't Minho have one good nights rest, unbothered?

"Hey." He feels someone shake his arm.

"I don't wanna go to work." He groans in a sleepy state.

"Dude you are at work." What?

The boy jolts up.

"O-oh, Jisung." 

Fuck. 

Big doe eyes stare humorously into Minho's, and he feels heat creep up to his ears and cheeks.

"You were completely conked out you know?" 

The boy brightly smiles and Minho is almost blinded because this boy is actually the sun. 

"Did you not sleep well last night?" Jisung's smile fades into a small frown. 

Minho's heart jumps. 

"I kinda stayed out late with friends." Minho shrugs. He studies the way Jisung runs his slim fingers through his dark blue hair, looking much too awake for 8:00 in the morning.

"Ah, I see. How's your stomach?" 

"It's better. No more pain." 

The entrance door swings open, and the two glance over to see a middle aged man entering the store. 

"Welcome." Minho sends a tired smile over to the man, but is only given a dirty look in return. Rude.

"People." Jisung mumbles.

"I know right." Minho sighs, shaking his head.

"Anyways, I'm glad you're feeling better. I don't know if this is too sudden, but are you doing anything later? What time are you off?" 

Oh. Unwanted butterflies creep into Minho's stomach. 

"Uhm, I'm off at 3:00, I'm not really doing anything." 

"Are you down for giving me that tour today?" A bright grin spreads across the boy's face, Minho screams internally. 

Yes. That. Minho didn't realize today would be the day he would have to mentally prepare himself for that.

"Yeah, I'm down." 

"Sweet." Jisung sets an energy drink onto the counter and looks up at him. "Last night was something huh."

It definitely was something. Minho scans the barcode and takes the bills being handed to him. "It was interesting." 

"I'm really sorry again."

"It's not your fault, Jisung. Don't think too much into it." The brown haired boy sends him a reassuring look, giving him the change. 

They both stand there for a moment, Minho being preoccupied filling the register with bills. He can feel Jisung's eyes studying him closely though. The cashier's hands begin to shake trying his best not to make it so obvious. 

"Do I look funny today or something?" He blurts, but what else is he supposed to say?

"Oh, uh, no I just kinda dozed off… sorry." Embarrassment clear in Jisung's eyes, he quickly collects his things. "Text me when you're ready and we'll figure things out from there." 

Jisung waves goodbye and disappears out the door soon after.

Minho is a whole mix of feelings right now; excited, nervous, anxious, scared, but mostly excited.

_

 

5:36 PM  
Hey Jisung, It's Minho :)

HAN JISUNG 5:40 PM  
Heyyy!  
Are you ready to go explore

5:43 PM  
Yeahh haha where did you wanna meet?

HAN JISUNG 5:44 PM  
I was thinking the subway station near the convenience store, station 15 I believe??

5:44 PM  
Yeah 15, sounds good, I'll meet you there at 6?

HAN JISUNG 5:45 PM  
Okay :) see you then!

 

Minho was able to arrive at the station five minutes before 6:00, giving him enough time to think of a few places to show Jisung. 

He checks his hair in the reflection of his phone screen, brushing through the knots, attempting to make himself look somewhat decent.

He's never given anyone a tour before, but it shouldn't be too hard. It's the talking in between that's the hardest, thinking of things to say about each place, asking questions or answering them. Conversing overall is something Minho finds difficult, but maybe this will be good practice for him. Test his socializing skills. He takes a deep breath, looking around for any sign of Jisung.

"Boo." 

Minho almost shrieks when he feels someone poke his back, scrambling up from his seat on the bench. "You," Minho points his index finger right at Jisung's face, "scared the crap out of me."

The blue haired boy busts into fits of laughter, playfully nudging the startled boy. "Sorry. You're very jumpy aren't ya?" 

"Not typically." Minho snaps back defensively, only to earn yet another laugh from the younger. 

Jisung has the biggest, brightest smile Minho has ever seen, and he loves the way the boy's eyes squeeze tightly shut when doing so. His laugh is so contagious that Minho finds himself laughing along with him. 

"So, what's the plan?"

"I was thinking we could grab some food first, have you eaten?"

"No, do you have a good place in mind- woah-"

Jisung is suddenly shoved straight into Minho by a young woman rushing through, and Minho's first instinct is the catch him by the shoulders to keep the younger from losing his balance.

"Th-thanks…" Jisung's face flushes red, most likely of embarrassment.

"No problem, that lady was rude." Minho realizes he still has hold of Jisung and quickly lets go.

The older stands there awkwardly, feeling like he just made things a little too awkward. 

"Uh, follow me. We gotta catch the next bus to downtown." 

_

 

"Table for two please." Minho turns his gaze over to Jisung as the two follow the waitress. "My parents used to take me here a lot when I was little, this is one of the more popular restaurants in this area. Their food is amazing."

"I'm excited to try it." Jisung says, a smile completely enveloping his face. 

Once the two take their seats at a booth, Minho feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. 

 

FELIX 6:24 PM  
Yo wyd right now? 

6:24 PM  
I'm with Jisung

FELIX 6:25 PM  
OHSHEETJJE  
TELL ME EVERYTHING

6:26 PM  
I'm just giving him that tour  
Nothing big is happening haha

FELIX 6:26 PM  
Are you making any moves yet?  
You know what, text me later. Don't be on your phone the whole time that'll look bad

 

Minho shoves his phone back into his pocket, glancing up at Jisung who is now studying the menu.

"Any recommendations?"

"Pork Belly." Minho says almost too quickly after, causing the boy to giggle. 

"Pork belly it is then."

After the food is served the two eat slowly, an awkward tension beginning to grow.

Minho feels a little panicky inside when he can't think of anything to say, and when he's put in situations such as this, he begins to sweat, a lot. 

His mind rolls back to yesterday, and finally remembers something he's been wanting to ask. "So, how do you know all of those people from Felix's school? Didn't you say you are new in town?"

Jisung hums in response as if he was already meaning to explain that but forgot to, swallowing his food before continuing, "Changbin is a childhood friend of mine. I had a hard time making friends at my school, so he introduced me to his group of friends. I would go to all of there hangouts and stuff and I eventually became close with them." 

Everything makes sense now. 

"Ah, interesting." 

"Yeah."

Minho wants to bring up Minjun and Chaeyoung, and find out if he was close with them or if he had problems with them too, but he decides to save that for another time. 

"Which one was Changbin again?" Everything from yesterday's events is a blur in Minho's mind, he's having a hard time placing names to people.

"The shortie." 

Minho can't help but laugh, Jisung joining in.

All it takes is one crack of a smile from the blue haired boy to send butterflies through Minho’s stomach. He tries to fight them back, but he can’t. Not when a Han Jisung is sitting right across the table from him, big doe eyes squinting in the cutest laughter, teeth bright as day. Sunlight is practically radiating off of him, and for once, Minho is happy to see the sun. He can’t get over the way the dark strands of blue drape over the boy’s forehead, covering his eyes, and the adorable way he quickly blows the hair away from his face in slight annoyance. 

“I really need to cut my hair.” Jisung speaks again.

“Don’t.” 

Why did he say that out loud?

“What?” Jisung gives him a look of confusion, followed along by an awkward laugh.

“I mean, you uhm, you look cool with it long?” Minho is panicking again. “I mean, it’s your choice my bro.” My bro? Could Minho sound anymore stupid?

“Are you okay Minho?” 

No. Minho is not okay. His hands are currently trembling, heart pounding, he’s forgotten how to human at this point. 

“I’m sorry, I’m really tired. I act weird when I’m tired.” 

“Should we do this another time? You should rest.” To Minho’s surprise, worry flashes across Jisung’s face. 

“I’m alright, how’s the food?” 

“Frickin’ amazing. You’re right about this place.” 

“I’m always right.” 

Jisung rolls his eyes before letting out a chuckle, “How old are you? If you don’t mind me asking.” 

“Twenty, and you?” Minho watches as the younger’s eyes go wide for a second, but he decides against questioning the sudden reaction.

“Eighteen, I’ll be nineteen in September.” 

That’s not too bad. Minho is just glad he’s not still in highschool.

The rest of the hour is spent in a less awkward conversation, and the two warm up quickly to each other. Jisung tells Minho all about his own hometown, life growing up, and so forth. There's much talk about dumb things they would do in highschool, then that lead onto the topic of music where they argued over which genres of music are better and worse, only jokingly of course. Other random topics were thrown in here and there. Dinner was nice, and Minho would do this with Jisung everyday if he could. 

“Alright, do you like coffee?” Minho asks after the two spilt the bill.

“Love it.”

“Great, let’s go grab a coffee and we can go take a tour. Sound good?”

“Fantastic.”

_

 

Minho takes Jisung into some of the shops, shows him where all of the bus and subway stations can be found, and answers every question about the town with all honesty. Jisung seems to be having a good time, and he almost never stops smiling, which is a little strange to Minho. Not that it’s abnormal to happy, he’s just never seen anyone act that happy around him in his life. Maybe it’s out of friendliness, or to hide his nervousness when socializing. But then again, socializing doesn’t seem to come as a difficult thing to Jisung, being as he acts very confident when doing so. You never truly know what goes on in other people's minds.

Light raindrops hit the top of their heads, and the Jisung gasps, "It's raining!"

"I love rain." Minho inhales his favorite scent, the beautifully refreshing scent that rain gives off.

They walk side by side past little shops, the paper cup of coffee warming Minho’s hands. Jisung takes a sip of his own cup and lets out a sigh of what seems to be satisfaction.

“This town is nice, a little more exciting than hometown.”

“It’s nice for the most part. It can get a little rough around here if you aren’t careful.”

“Every town has its pros and cons.”

“True.” 

When they pass a small floral shop, warm memories of Minho’s childhood begin to flood his mind. The days when he had no worries in the world, the days his mother would drag him with her to pick up flowers for their kitchen table. His mother always had a bouquet set neatly on the table as decor, keeping the kitchen smelling fresh of all types of flowers. Lavender, tulips, roses, daisys, the list goes on. The feeling of nostalgia makes him crack a smile. His mother stopped keeping up with her little flower routine a few years back, and the thought of that makes him miss his childhood a little more.

“So, very important question Minho.”

Minho is pulled from his thoughts, and for some reason, he feels a small amount of anxiousness for what the question might be.

“Ask away.”

Jisung tugs his dark hood over his head when the rain falls harder. “Is there a park around here and does it have swings?”

That was definitely an unexpected question. 

“Yeah there are a couple, I’m assuming you like parks?” 

“It sounds childish, but that’s where I hang out the most.” He turns his head away from Minho in embarrassment.

“That’s okay because you know what?” 

“What.”

“That’s the place I spend most of my free time at.” 

“No way, I love blasting music in my head phones and swinging at the same time.”

Minho feels excitement bubbling inside of him when he realizes that someone can finally understand the child-like side of his personality. 

“I do the same thing. All of my friends get so bored when I take them with me. They just sit there and complain about how boring it is. So annoying.”

“I totally understand. My friends don’t really find much joy in it either.”

There is silence after that, but no ounce of awkwardness this time. Just a comfortable silence, along with the sounds of the public. Cars passing by, in and out fades of other peoples voices, and the two boys shoes dragging across the wet cement sidewalk. 

“Do you wanna show me one of those parks right now?” 

Jisung smirks, and Minho’s eyes light up. 

“In the rain?”

“Yes.”

_

 

“These swings are huge!” Jisung beams. Minho cracks a smile, because maybe he finds it cute how excited the boy is about a stupid little thing like how big the swings are.

“I know, I love how high up they are. That means more airtime. These are my favorite swings in the neighborhood.” Minho notices the stars in the sky, and how bright they are. Light gray clouds gently brush across the dark sky, hiding the powerful light of the moon. The air is moist, a light warm breeze brushing damp strands of hair away from Minho’s forehead. The rain has slowed it’s pace, the strong smell of wet wood chips filling the air.

“You know, we only met a few days ago, but I feel like we’ve connected a lot already.” Jisung says in a calm voice, staring at the same scenery of the sky that Minho now takes his eyes away from, focusing them on the boy beside him.

“Yeah, I think so too.” For a moment, a small feeling of hope rises inside of Minho. 

“I really suck at making friends, so this is nice. I’ve made a new friend, and so quickly too.” 

Minho’s heart sinks a bit, but he was already expecting this. Friends. Jisung and Minho are friends now, and he tries to convince himself that it’s not a bad thing. At least he can be friends with this really pretty boy that makes his heart do a number of things. At least he has that. And not only is Jisung just some pretty boy, he’s someone Minho feels comfortable around for the short amount of time they’ve known each other. Someone that could light up any dark day, just by being around them. He can’t count how many times Jisung has made him laugh today, he really hasn’t laughed this hard in a while. Felix’s words from yesterday about being okay with just being friends, echo through his mind. But another thing he remembers him saying is to at least try and see if Jisung is interested. Minho hasn’t done much trying yet, but he doesn’t know how to try, nor does he feel like trying. He doesn’t want to make things weird when he’s finally made a new friend. He decides that he's going to attempt at ignoring these feelings of attraction, and focus on this new friendship. Maybe it’s for the best. After all, nothing's happened yet, and they've only know each other for a few days. Minho has enough time to change his feelings. It's just a little crush, so it won't be too hard. Will it?

"It seems like you have a lot of friends though." 

Jisung gently pushes himself back and forth, dragging his feet across the wood chips in a repetitive motion. "That's because I was introduced, I didn't approach them first."

Minho hesitates before asking, "What makes me different from the other people you've tried to make friends with?"

Was that a weird question? Minho isn't quite sure.

"You're just, I don't know." Jisung fiddles with his fingers, keeping his eyes fixed on them. "To be honest, you intimidated me at first, and I was a little nervous to hang out with you today. But things ended up going really well, and I've found that you can be an easy person to talk to." 

Minho smiles at his words, he never thought of himself as an intimidating person, and the fact that someone thinks he is an easy person to talk to makes him feel good inside.

"Well, I think you're easy to talk to as well. It's hard to find people like that, people as friendly as you, you know?" The once light breeze grows slowly stronger, sending chills through Minho. He closes his eyes, relaxation setting in, focusing on the gentle sounds of the world around him. The rustling of the leaves above, the quiet squeaks of the swings, his feet hitting against the wood chips, and the sound of his own breath, inhaling, exhaling. He could fall asleep right here on this swing, right in this moment.

"It's so nice out tonight." Jisung breaks the silence, Minho hums in agreement. “Really though, thanks for being my first new friend in this town and making me feel welcome.”

“Of course.” 

_

 

FELIX 10:03 PM  
Soooo????

10:09 PM  
It was really fun  
But I was friendzoned haha

FELIX 10:13 PM  
oh cmon you just met him  
maybe he wants to start off as friends and get to know you first??

10:15 PM  
Idk man

FELIX 10:15 PM  
just be patient, see how things turn out  
remember what I said?  
if all else fails, it’s okay to just be friends with him there are more people out there 

10:16 PM  
I know i know

FELIX 10:18 PM  
but give little hints here and there, see how he reacts, just kinda feel it out  
or just don’t try at all and stay friends  
but I really think you should try

10:19 PM  
we’ll see

FELIX 10:21 PM  
sigj  
*sigh  
so it wemt well?  
*went  
omf I can't type

10:23 PM  
lmao  
yeah, he’s really interesting  
very loud  
but in a good way, he’s very lively 

FELIX 10:26 PM  
I wanna hang with him lmao

10:27 PM  
lmaoo i’ll invite you next time

FELIX 10:32 PM  
YEET


	7. City Lights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are eating well and staying hydrated and all the things 🥰 happy Seungmin day btw ♡♡♡

Minho wakes up the next morning to the smell of coffee and eggs. Exhausted, he pulls himself out of bed and makes his way downstairs. 

“Good morning sweetheart, I made breakfast.” His mother places a kiss on his forehead as he rubs the sleep from his eyes. 

Serving himself a plate of food, his mother pours him a steaming cup of coffee. 

“How did you sleep?” She asks while taking a seat next to him at the table. 

“I slept okay, where’s dad? Isn’t he off today?”

“He had to work this morning. Someone called in sick, so he had to take this morning shift.”

Minho nods in understanding.

Raindrops hit heavily against the kitchen window as they quietly eat.

A few moments go by until his mother speaks up again, "Do you have any plans for this weekend? Work? Hanging out with friends?”

Right, it’s the weekend, and Minho couldn’t be happier.

“Not really.”

“Well, if you get too bored, I’ll be helping grandma out with her gardening these next few days. You’re more than welcome to join us.” She winks, followed by a laugh when Minho sends her a disappointed expression. 

"Alright, well if you get too bored, there's an option." 

__

After breakfast, Minho’s mother leaves, and he is left all alone with the house to himself. 

The majority of Minho's day is spent mostly lounging around the house, watching his favorite shows on TV. He makes sure to squeeze in a little time for house chores so his mother doesn't have to stress when she gets home later that night. 

Having the house to himself feels nice, giving him time to relax and not think about anything, no people-ing, just enjoying the quiet. 

He notices his phone buzz a couple times and is a little shocked when he sees two texts from Jisung.

 

HAN JISUNG 4:36 PM  
hi :)  
how are you?

 

Minho can't help but crack a small smile, deciding to wait a few minutes to respond. You know, so he doesn't come off as desperate. 

 

4:41 PM  
heyy I'm alright, hbu? :)

HAN JISUNG 4:41 PM  
I'm good, just hanging out ya know

 

Damn, that was a fast response. 

 

4:43 PM  
same haha what are your plans for the weekend?

 

Minho re-reads every text he sends at least three or four times each, and the more he reads the more he regrets each one and thinks of ways he could have worded them better. 

"Oh my god you're just texting calm the fuck down, he's not gonna chop your head off if you're a little awkward." He says to himself in a loud tone, good thing no one's home to hear how stupid he sounds right now.

 

HAN JISUNG 4:45 PM  
probably gonna go out with my friends, they're gonna help me find some kind of summer job

4:49 PM  
good luck, you'll find one easy here there are so many places needing help 

HAN JISUNG 4:53 PM  
that's relieving to hear hahaha  
yesterday was fun, this morning I went back to that park you showed me

 

For some reason, Minho’s heart does a thing and he hates that he would have that kind of a reaction over something as simple as this.

 

4:55 PM  
oh really? yeah it’s a nice park  
yesterday was pretty fun, we gotta do it again

HAN JISUNG 4:56 PM  
yeah i’ll probs go there a lot this summer lol  
and yes plsss you’re really fun to hang out with!

 

Minho freezes and stares at the text for a moment before tossing is phone almost too aggressively onto the other side of the couch. He rolls over onto his side and plants his face into a couch pillow, rambling all sorts of incoherent words to himself.

This boy just told him he’s fun to hang out with. Minho isn't sure if he’s just saying that to be nice, but then again, why would Jisung text him if he didn't like talking or hanging out with him? All sorts of thoughts run through Minho's head and he doesn't respond to the text for a good twenty minutes, just spends the whole time probably thinking of ways to respond.

As soon as he finally comes up with a good enough response, he takes a deep breath before hitting send. 

 

5:17 PM  
haha, am i? well, you are too :)

 

Okay, maybe that wasn't the best response and Minho is now slowly regretting it but that was the best he could come up with.

It's the abrupt knock at the front door that startles him out of his mess of thoughts.

He lets out a sigh, letting the door knock for a few more moments until the sound gets too annoying. Lazily picking himself up, he opens the door.

“Good morning sunshine.”

“Chan it's like five.”

The blonde boy laughs before pushing his way inside. “Yeah but you look like you just woke up.”

"Thanks, you look great too." Minho rolls his eyes, plopping himself back onto the couch. 

“No no no, get up.” Chan pulls the tired slug of a person Minho is off of the couch and the younger whines.

“What do you want from me.”

“I want you to entertain me.” 

“Bitch I’m tired.” Minho attempts to lay back down but loses the battle when Chan doesn’t let him budge.

“You gotta get up, I’m not gonna let you lay here the rest of the evening being all boring and shit. Let’s go do something.”

“Like what.”

“I don’t know yet but go get dressed and we’ll figure it out from there.”

Minho stands there for a moment, head tiredly tilted to the side as he debates on whether or not to get out and be productive. Eventually, he gives in and leaves a smirking Chan alone in the living room.

He might as well do something with his life.

“Let me shower first, you can watch something if you want." He calls from the hallway.

Once showered and dressed, Minho walks in to see Chan eating his box of crackers he had left beside the couch, flicking through the shows on Netflix.

"Oh my god you have Bob the Builder added to your list." Chan's laugh echoes off the walls of the house and Minho is quick to snatch the remote out of his hands, shutting off the TV. 

"Yeah, bitch I was watching Bob the Builder. I got bored and decided to look up all of my childhood shows. How can you sit there laughing at me when Felix and I found a whole set of Teletubbies VHS tapes in your closet?"

"I've had those since I was a child Minho."

Minho flips him off and the older breaks into another fit of laughter. 

__

 

Minho falls into a light sleep on the bus, but Chan is sure to wake him up once they arrive at their stop.

They step into the small cafe, being greeted by a beaming Woojin.

“What a nice surprise” The older throws an arm around each of the two.

“We got bored and decided to come see you, what time are you off?” 

“Actually, I was having a pleasantly quiet evening until he dragged me out of my h-”

Chan places a hand over Minho’s mouth and finishes the sentence for him, “He’s really happy to see you, he missed you a lot.” 

Minho yanks the hand off of his mouth and shoots Chan a glare, earning a loud laughter from Woojin. 

“Awe, I missed you too.”

The younger cringes when Woojin playfully pinches his cheek. 

“I’ll actually be off in fifteen minutes. Should we pick up Felix after this and go do something?” 

“Sounds good, I’ll call him right now.” Chan says before stepping outside to call their friend.

“Coffee?” Woojin glances over at Minho.

“I better.”

Minho makes himself comfortable at a table near the coffee bar where Woojin gets to work on his beverage. He takes this waiting time to rest his eyes for a moment, listening to the loud chatter of the people throughout the busy cafe. A few moments later, he looks down at his phone to see that Jisung hasn’t responded to his last text. He must be busy or something, there wasn’t any kind of awkwardness within the last few texts, so Minho isn’t too worried.

He moves his attention over to a conversation happening between Woojin and a female barista.

“Woojinnie, why haven’t you answered my texts, hm?” The young woman pokes out her bottom rosy pink lip in a pouty manner.

“I was busy, Sooyoung.”

With lashes fluttering in a way that Minho finds both extremely flirty and very annoying, she places a hand on Woojin's shoulder and leans in almost too close, whispering something with lips pressed against his ear.

Discomfort is much too clear in her fellow barista's eyes, slighting pulling himself away. 

Woah. 

Curiosity strikes, Minho’s eyes go wide at what he is witnessing in this moment. He’ll have to remember to ask Woojin later what the hell that was all about.

__

After picking up Felix in Woojin’s car, the four friends find themselves taking the long hour drive to Seoul, not knowing what else to do but wanting to escape the town for a bit. 

Minho rests his head against the glass of the backseat window, letting his gaze fall on each car passing by, the fast movement of the water of the big river beneath the road bridge, and the city buildings that slowly begin to appear one by one. 

The sun is setting, the clouds creating a mesh of pinks and oranges. He struggles to keep his eyes open, despite the loud music blasting from the car speakers. Before realizing it, he has his head tiredly rested against Felix’s shoulder, eyes falling closed. 

This coffee did nothing.

“Hey,” Felix chuckles, shifting his shoulder beneath Minho’s head, “Don’t fall asleep.” 

“Why are you so tired today Minho? Not sleep well?” Woojin calls from the front, eyes focused on the road ahead.

Minho only shrugs.

By the time they arrive at their destination, he is now more awake. The group steps out of Woojin’s car, and Minho takes in the sight. 

It takes him a moment to realize where they’re at, taking a deep breath of the fresh evening air while gazing out at the open view of the water. 

The Han river is one of Minho’s favorite places to go and let off steam or to just come and relax, not think of anything.

Fried chicken is what they decide on for dinner, setting out a blanket on the soft grass somewhat near the water, a small road for bikers and pedestrians dividing them from the giant river.

"One order of boneless spicy and another of the regular with bone, and then four cokes please." Woojin speaks into the phone as the other three take a seat on the blanket. 

"The weather's so nice today." Felix says in awe while focusing on the beautiful view of the pastel colors in the sky.

The two other boys hum in agreement. 

"Alright, food should be here in twenty minutes." Woojin claps while taking a seat in between Chan and Minho. 

"That's too long." Felix groans, dramatically falling onto his back.

"We don't have to share you know, you can go get your own food." Chan winks and the youngest rolls his eyes in response. 

"It's not my fault I don't have money. All of it went into savings. My parents don't let me spend a cent. It's so stupid, like, I'm the one working for it, why take it away from me?"

"Felix, they're just trying to teach you how to be responsible. We all know how crazy you get when you have spending money, it all evaporates into thin air within a matter of seconds." Woojin adds.

"Though I agree with Woojin, I also think that since you're graduated, shouldn't you be able to take control of your own bank account?" Minho says.

"That's what I think! I can be responsible, now that I'm out of high school I have no choice but to be responsible, they're making me help with bills now." Felix sighs, sitting back up to face the three.

"Welcome to adulting." Chan lets out a chuckle, patting his younger friend on the back.

Suddenly, Minho's mind makes its way back to the strange moment earlier at the cafe.

"Woojin, who was that girl that was like, all over you earlier. Seoyeon- no, Seoyoon-"

"Sooyoung. I can't stand her." Woojin rolls his eyes back and sighs. "She likes me, and I don't know how to reject her. I suck at things like that."

"Wait, is she the one that you had to drive home that one night after the party because no one else would?" Chan asks in disbelief, seemly afraid of the answer that is to come.

"Yep, that's her."

"Oh God."

Minho feels a sudden vibration from his phone and his heart begins to pound.

Jisung responded.

 

HAN JISUNG 7:56 PM  
I guess I can be pretty exciting to be around bahaha jk ;) How has your day been?

 

He can't help but smile stupidly at the text, setting his phone back down because he doesn't want to respond so quickly. He'll wait a bit.

"What are ya smiling at, hmm?" 

Minho brings his gaze up to Chan who is smirking.

"It's just my mom." 

"Mhmm, okay whatever you say, lover boy." 

"Woojin what the fuck?" Minho face palms. Causing the rest of the group to burst into laughter. 

Their food arrives soon after, and they spend the next hour chatting, eating, and just enjoying each others presence.

__

 

Minho kicks a rock lightly with his shoe as they walk down the road, nighttime setting in. 

“Wait, who got the banana milk and who got the milkis?” Chan says while peering into the bag of convenience store snacks they got only moments ago. 

“Banana milk is mine.” Felix responds, snatching a small carton out of the bag.

“I got the Milkis.” Minho adds.

“Guys, up here. Hurry up!” Woojin, who is now much too far ahead of the other three, waves the boys over before climbing up a ladder attached to a familiar building.

The building belongs to Woojin's grandfather who runs a bakery on the bottom floor. 

This place is a special hangout spot for the boys, and always has been even before Felix came along. A place filled with an uncountable amount of memories they all share together. 

Once the four reach up to the rooftop garden, Minho does nothing but gasp as he lets his gaze set on the night view. City lights gleaming in the distances, reflecting off of the Han river. 

“Wow.” Chan breaks the silence of the four, all standing in awe of the sight. 

A deep breath and look at the scenery is all it takes to make Minho feel calm and at ease. Letting go of all of the stresses that have been weighing him down, he feels good. He doesn’t want this blissful moment to end, feeling like he’s on top of the world with all of his problems below him. 

He takes a seat next to Woojin on the ground, the other two finding themselves a spot as well. They stay silent for a while, sipping calmly at their beverages. 

Minho studies each tiny car that makes its way across the bridge just above the river, counting each one as they go.

“So, how have you guys been?”

“Chan, you’re acting as if we haven’t all been talking to each other every day.” Felix rolls his eyes as he munches down on a chip.

“You know what I mean.”

Each boy shares a glance at another, waiting for someone to speak up.

“Well.. I guess I’ll start. I’m seeing someone currently.” A smile creeps onto Woojin’s face as soon as the words leave his mouth.

“Oh god, please don’t tell me it’s the girl from earlier.” Minho has to hold back the cringe.

“Hell no, this person works somewhere else.”

“What’s her name?” Felix beams. 

“What does she look like?” Minho adds.

“Yunhae, and her eyes literally sparkle.” The oldest hides his face shyly. 

“Oh my god, do you have a picture?” The youngest almost chucks the bag of chips off the building but of excitement but Chan is quick to catch them.

“Here’s her Instagram, don’t like any photos or I will actually kill you right here right now.” Woojin hands his phone over to Minho, Felix leaning over his shoulder to get a view too.

“Oh wow, she’s gorgeous.”

“Yeah, how’d a guy like you manage to get a chick like her?” Minho teases, and with that, he receives a smack across the arm by Woojin. “Ouch! Yo, I’m kidding.” 

“So, how long has this been going on for?” Chan’s voice comes out in almost a whisper, and to Minho's surprise, he doesn’t seem as excited at the news as the rest of them. 

“Not too long, about three weeks now? I was gonna tell you guys sooner, but I decided to wait until I’ve really explored and figured out my feelings. I think I really like her guys.”

“Aha, that’s really great Woojin. I’m happy you found someone.” Chan rips his gaze away from the older and glues them to the overlook of the city.

His three best friends stare at him in confusion.

“Woah, you alright there Chan?” Felix questions.

“I think he might be jealous because he doesn’t have a girlfriend yet. Don’t worry homie, you’ll find someone.” Once again, Minho is slapped across the arm. “Ow! Can y’all stop beating me up, damn.”

“Stop saying stupid shit then.” Woojin chuckles.

“He’s right, I’m just a little lonely lately. But it’s alright, I’m too busy to date anyway.” Chan laughs lightly, taking a sip of his coffee milk. “Keep us updated, we all wanna hear how it goes with her.” He sends a half hearted smile over to Woojin. 

Minho feels a buzz in his pocket.

 

JAMIE 8:31 PM  
yo did I leave my beanie at work??

8:32 PM  
I didn’t see it, sorry :p

 

He realizes he still has yet to respond to Jisung, now would probably be a good time.

 

8:32 PM  
it’s been pretty boring tbh, but I’m hanging with friends now  
hbu??

 

“Someone else go now, enough about me.” Woojin speaks before tossing a chip into his mouth.

Minho and Felix make eye contact, most likely sharing the same thoughts, the youngest giving an unsure look. 

Felix has yet to tell the others about what happened to him and Minho the other night at Karaoke. Minho doesn’t try to force the topic, just patiently waits for Felix to decide whether or not he’s ready to talk about it.

“Guys, I…” The orange-haired boy's eye twitches, “I have something I guess..”

The three friends wait patiently, the younger’s brows furrowing as he struggles to get any words out.

“You alright Lix?” 

A light breeze picks up, sending chills down Minho’s spine. Sirens and the distant faded noises of the city life below sounds throughout the cool night air.

“I was kind of meaning to tell you guys this for a while now, but I guess I was just scared. I know I shouldn’t be, because I trust you guys.” The boy takes in a deep breath before continuing, “I’ve had a problem with bullying in school-”

“What?” Chan shoots up onto his feet, towering over the three.

“Chan, let him finish.” Woojin pats the youngest on the back in a comforting manner, “Continue.” 

Chan, eyes full of worry, sits back down in his spot, keeping silent after that. 

“It went on for a while, and even though school is over now and I don’t have to think about it anymore, I was reminded… uhm, Minho and I kinda, bumped into them the other day and it may have gotten a little messy.”

“It wasn’t that bad, just kinda got beat up by a highschooler, whatever.” 

“Who are they, where are they, I will not hesitate to kill a bitch.” Chan growls, earning a half hearted laugh from the younger.

“Nah, I think they’ve gotten bored with me. I shouldn’t be having problems anytime soon. I just wanted you guys to know, had to get it off my chest ya know?”

The oldest places a hand on Felix’s shoulder and takes a deep breath. “Do your parents know?”

“Hell no. And they never will.” 

“Lix…”

“They have enough to worry about. It’s all over now. I’m fine.” Felix smiles weakly.

It’s quiet for a moment, the three older boys study their friend calmly, silently showing their care and concern by just being there and listening.

The orange haired boy sends them each a reassuring smile, before being defeated by his weakness, a tear rolling down his cheek.

“I really love you guys, you know.” As soon as the words leave the youngest’s mouth he receives a whole mix of reactions. A cringe from Minho, an "Aww." from Woojin, and a gushing sigh from Chan. 

“We love you too.” Woojin smiles while squeezing the youngest until he almost can’t breathe.

Minho's phone lights up, and he lets his eyes linger on the name in bolded letters for a moment. 

 

HAN JISUNG 8:14 PM  
mine's been boring too ngl  
what are u and your friends doing?

 

Something inside makes the boy want to just tell Woojin and Chan about Jisung, just lay everything out on the table. He doesn't want to hide it any longer, but he also gets a sick feeling in his stomach at the thought of saying it out loud. He wishes they could just read his mind so he doesn't have to say it. Maybe he will wait just a little longer, until he his really comfortable, until there are no negative feelings left inside. 

His friends will never judge him, and he knows that very well. He will tell them soon. When he is confident enough.


End file.
